


Playing Games

by squire



Category: Star Wars (Marvel Comics), Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: A Little Bit Of Crack, Angst, Cannoli Kylux, Canon Setting, Enemies to Lovers, Friends with benefits to enemies, M/M, Pre-TFA, References to Age of Resistance: Hux, one-night stands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-09-26 16:24:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20392648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/squire/pseuds/squire
Summary: Hux thinks Ren shouldn't be playing games with his officers.Ren thinks Hux shouldn't have played games with him.





	1. Chapter 1

It had been three months since Kylo Ren became stationed at the Finalizer and general Hux had yet to form an opinion on him. 

The self-proclaimed Master of the Knights of Ren (Hux never heard of them) kept mostly to himself. He was a man of singular appearance and very little words. At least, Hux assumed he was a man. His Basic sounded flat and toneless from under the mask, any finer accent obscured by the artificial modulation. 

He was irregular, nonconforming, an obvious outsider. A cuckoo's egg planted in Hux's carefully crafted nest of plans. Hux didn't know what training or education the man went through to warrant him the command of First Order troops but he noticed the arrogance, the sort of natural command this man seemed to have. The air of a man accustomed to give orders without doubt that they would be carried out. Such an air could either be hard won, cultivated by years of diligent rising through the ranks - or simply owned, by the privilege of birthright. Hux loathed those. But the soldiers followed Ren easily, falling into line as if under a spell. He could be making them, with that mysterious Force. 

So of course Hux noticed him. But in turn, his observation didn't go unnoticed by Ren. There were lingering stares of that unsettling mask directed at him now, Ren becoming a more permanent fixture on the bridge with each day. Overseeing the command to report back to Snoke, most likely. And yet… 

The precarious balance of their coexistence shifted one day, in front of an unused auxiliary cargo bay, in the dead end of the graveyard shift. 

Hux didn't know if Ren has been granted a training space of his own by Snoke or if he simply took it without asking but he was willing to let this one slide, for two reasons. Many decks ran on skeleton crew anyway, large number of personnel having been deployed for the groundwork on the Starkiller base. It wasn't as if they needed this bay. The second reason was the exclusive, private viewing of the Force user slashing and barreling his way through the combat simulations. 

Ren in fight was like a natural disaster happening on a slightly smaller scale. Once he got into motion, he was unstoppable, crushing everything in his path. His melee technique was brutal and without finesse, he relied more on the raw power of his punches and kicks than on the unstable looking blade in his hand. Hux found it detestable. He also found himself unable to look away. 

That flex of muscle on those strong thighs, that broad back twisting, those shoulders arched wide… It really didn't matter how he looked under that mask, Hux told himself. Especially not when Hux would be on his elbows and knees, face pressed into the pillow, with that raw power behind him and all over him…

Inside the cargo bay, Ren stopped . Pieces of sentry droids fell to the ground in scorched, garbled mess. 

"General."

Acknowledgement, not a question. 

"Ren. Anything wrong with the officers' training rooms?" 

It was hard to guess someone's mood through a metallic faceplate but from the way Ren's shoulders hunched and the leather of his gloves pulled just a touch more taut over his knuckles, he was probably scowling. 

"I don't care for gawking bystanders."

_ And yet you tolerated me _ , Hux thought, ignoring the insult. He smiled and spun more of his yarn. 

"They would benefit from watching you, learning from you. Your style is unique, nothing like our combat forms."

Ren powered off his blade. In the absence of its crackling hum, the silence between them loomed awkward and heavy. At last, he spoke up again. 

"What do you really want, General?" 

So he  _ knew  _ his combat technique would be a disaster when applied to whole units of men. Good. Hux mentally added a point in Ren's favour. 

"Why don't we discuss it over a drink?" 

Ren walked up to him, head tilted slightly to one side as if in consideration. From up close, Hux could make out tiny dents and scratches on the dully gleaming metal, light catching on them as Ren shook his head.

"Your next bridge shift starts in two hours, and I am not done here."

Hux squared his shoulders, standing straight and facing the one intimidating inch Ren has on him with a little smirk of delight. "Have you been tracking my schedule, Ren?" 

This time, the reply came quickly. 

"We share command of this ship. Of course I know your schedule."

Too quickly, too defensive. Hux fought to keep his smile from breaking into a smug grin. 

"Would you perhaps like to know more about me?" 

The light glinted off Ren's visor in a different play of sparks when he nodded. 

"And I would like to know more about you," Hux lowered his voice. "Tonight. My quarters." 

Then, as if an innocent afterthought: "I hope your master allows you to drink?" 

Ren visibly bristled at the dig. Hux didn't need those three months to learn his posture cues, the man read like an open book after a week. 

"I am my own master aside from the teachings of the Force, of which you know nothing," Ren growled and stalked off. He didn't call off the evening arrangement though, so Hux counted that as a win. 

***

Hux counted on having some time after the end of his shift for a much needed shower and maybe a quick nap but as usual, Ren had to put a wrench in his plans. Hux had barely emerged from the 'fresher, wrapping his favourite bathrobe around himself, when there was a buzz at the door. Apparently, someone didn't like to wait. 

“Ren,” Hux managed to keep the annoyance from his tone as he ushered that masked, black-clad wraith into his living quarters. Ren had arrived complete with that tattered cowl of his, quite overdressed for the kind of activity Hux had in mind. He stopped in the middle of the room, hovering silently and just looking around, while Hux busied himself at the drink cabinet. 

“What can I pour you? By the way, are you planning to take that off or should I fetch you a straw?”

He didn’t expect Ren to laugh at that - and maybe the huff through the vocoder wasn’t even a laugh. But then Ren first pulled off his gloves, then was undoing something under the sides of the mask and then pulling the whole thing off his head, and the face that met his curiosity was indeed an amused one.

It was also a young one, which was a pleasant surprise. Amongst his equals in rank, Hux was by far the youngest, surrounded by stuffy old former Imperials who were just as unappealing as they were useless. Kylo Ren’s face was irregular, like everything about him, but expressive and even as a sum of its parts it didn’t live up to any beauty standard, each of those individual parts - eyes, nose, mouth - was almost strikingly attractive. Definitely not a face Hux would meet on a daily basis. 

Which was odd, because at the same time, Hux couldn’t shake off the feeling that he’d already seen this face. But that was impossible. Kylo Ren didn’t come out of the Stormtrooper training program. Hux let that nagging impression slide for the moment and focused instead on the matter at hand. 

“Wine?” he asked, pulling out a bottle of his favourite vintage. 

“Not for me,” Ren replied. Hux frowned. Their balance was already off, with him pink-faced and soft from the shower and Ren still wrapped in his stiff layers, and now this?

“I specifically asked you-”

“Not the wine,” Ren clarified, finally moving over to Hux and conjuring a crystal bottle out of stars knew where inside his robes. “For you. Thirty year old Corellian.”

A liquor about as old as the First Order, and much finer than anything any of those old-time loving Imperials could afford to enjoy in a very long time. Hells, some of the would even be willing to lick it up if it spilled on the floor…

Hux snapped out if his little fantasy and deftly uncapped the bottle, readied two glasses and poured a generous amount into each. 

“If you’re trying to make me approve more troops on your  _ classified _ missions into New Republic space…” he took a sip and rolled it around his mouth before swallowing, “...it’s working.”

“Always good to know the quickest way to a man’s heart,” Ren smirked and made himself comfortable on one end of the sofa.

“Between the fourth and the fifth rib, everyone knows that,” Hux replied without missing a beat, perching down on the other end. A little respectable distance remained between them but the sofa wasn’t very big. It wasn’t Hux’s fault if his knee sometimes brushed against Ren’s. 

“With that blade you keep in your uniform sleeve?” 

Either that was a casual demonstrations of Ren’s mind reading abilities, or Hux should work on his own posture and gestures to better hide that one non-regulation element of his attire. 

“I’m flattered, Ren,” he said, keeping his tone light. “You know what I appreciate, you know what I hide… It seems you have been observing my habits very closely.”

Ren shrugged, eyes falling closed in appreciation as he took a sip of his drink. When he fixed them at Hux again, they shone with a kind of emotion Hux couldn’t immediately identify. 

“I find you rather fascinating, General. But I believe my attention isn’t unwelcome, is it?”

“Please, while we’re here, call me Hux.” Hux held out his glass for a clink, which Ren dutifully mirrored. Then he leaned forward. “And as to my appreciation of your attention... it depends on whether you liked what you saw.”

Those soft brown, expressive eyes dropped again. Hux watched them roam over his body, almost being able to feel their path like a lick of tingling heat over his delicate throat, half-exposed collarbones, pale wrists stark against the rich black material of his robe. He leaned back again, the robe sliding an inch down off his shoulder with the pull of the movement, and he watched Ren swallow at that. 

“I did,” Ren said, low and hoarse as if he had suddenly trouble speaking, “but I like you more like this.” And in a strange contradiction of manner Hux began to get used with him, shy with words but bold with his actions, he reached out and tucked one of the loose, still wet strands of hair behind Hux’s ear. The touch was fleeting but still warm, almost shockingly so in the contrasting chill of the room, and Ren snatched his hand back quickly as if it burned. 

“But you’ve also been observing me,” he said, words coming faster now. “What have you learned about me, Hux?”

“Aside from you having formidable fighting skills… not much,” Hux drawled. “Oh, and an excellent taste in drink.” He demonstrated by swallowing the rest of the brandy in his glass. 

“So I’m curious,” he continued. “What other vices are you your own master to indulge in, Ren?”

Again, that strange look in his eyes, like too many emotions happening at once. 

“The Dark side is not as strict as the legends you probably heard of the Jedi...” he said slowly. 

Oh, this was too good. But still Hux couldn’t miss out on a taunt. “So I don’t have to be afraid of the Supreme Leader’s retribution for seducing his apprentice?”

Something in Ren’s expression shuttered off. His voice dropped lower, teeth barely moving from their clench when he asked: 

“So that’s it? You’re seducing the Supreme Leader’s apprentice?”

Damn. Hux had to gamble, and quick. 

“No.” He put his hand over Ren’s on the back of the sofa. Ren immediately froze. Such a small point of contact, and yet effectively pinning him in place. Hux maintained eye contact as he leaned forward again, willing the words drive home. 

“I don’t care about the Force, as you so aptly assumed. As far as I am concerned, you're my equal in both rank and age, and not bad looking. I’m seducing you. Is that a problem?”

The exhale seemed to take with it all the tension in Ren’s body. 

“Not a problem.” He, too, was leaning forward now. “You’re just saving me the time I would have to spend seducing you.”

“I like to be efficient,” Hux murmured and then he didn’t have to worry about his smile betraying his victorious smugness anymore because Ren’s lips were right there, keeping his mouth pleasantly occupied for the rest of the night. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, and I should also note... This entire fic was inspired by fanart. I'm sure everyone knows which one. I can't find it, so if anyone has it, please link me in comments, thanks ❤️

Over the course of the next weeks, Hux had learned a few more things about Kylo Ren. 

First, he was an enthusiastic bedmate, which Hux had hoped for, and also a generous one, which was a surprising but welcome novelty in Hux’s experience. The sex was so good that Hux made an exception to his usual rules and accepted Ren’s suggestion for a repeat performance, and a couple more after that. It was bound to become boring one day but so far, Hux didn’t feel the urge to satisfy his whims elsewhere. 

Second, Ren apparently didn’t like the standard fare and didn’t trust Hux’s palate. That became obvious one day when he would nod to Hux’s passing suggestion of “Let’s discuss the rest over dinner, my quarters” only for Hux to come in after the end of his shift to the smell of hot food and the sight of Kylo Ren setting the small, mostly unused dining table in Hux’s quarters. Hux’s kitchenette barely saw any action aside from steeping a bag of tea but judging from the state of it now, Ren had got it into his head to cook a full meal from the scratch rather than ordering it from the kitchens like any sane person would. Well, if Ren was finicky, it was his problem. Hux wasn’t, and since Ren had cooked enough for two, Hux went with the flow and ate what he was given. To Ren’s credit, it tasted good. 

Third, Ren liked to litter. Hux had no other explanation for that. He would habitually leave his things behind, most likely expecting Hux to tidy up after him. One morning Hux stepped out of the shower, toweling off his hair and blindly reaching for his robe - when his fingers encountered something unfamiliar. On the usual hook hung a different robe to his - much softer, warmer, the material feeling like butter between his fingers, a far cry from his own perfectly serviceable but rather simple pleated robe. Such an indulgent thing had to be Ren’s but as to why Ren would think it was all right to leave it in Hux’s ‘fresher, Hux had no idea. He made sure to stud it with the proper chip assigning it to Ren’s belongings and left it to the laundry droids to sort it out. 

Then there was the thermal tea cup left on Hux's table. At least it was polished clean, Hux would have to have serious words with Ren if the man expected him to do his dishes as well. Hux turned it in his hands for a moment, admiring it with a bit of envy - it was a perfectly kept antique, much better quality than the mass issued First Order army cups. Ren must have retrieved it from some Imperial wreck on one of his missions. He obviously liked to surround himself with luxury, a wasteful trait if you asked Hux, considering that Ren didn't seem the indulging type. He certainly never drank tea in Hux's quarters… But then, he probably didn't like Hux's brand. Hux just pushed it over to Ren with a raised eyebrow the next time Ren dined with him, hoping Ren would get the hint and start picking up after himself like the adult he was supposed to be. Ren frowned but pocketed the cup without making a fuss, point taken. 

A strangely glowing crystal sat in the middle of Hux's desk one day, probably Ren's keepsake from some Force-searching mission. Hux rolled his eyes, had it scanned for radiation and then ordered a lab technician to return it to Ren’s quarters at the earliest convenience. 

So yes, Kylo Ren was messy and tenacious like a weed and time to time he would forget to take his stuff with him but he was good in bed, talked very little and always got out of Hux’s hair before he could get a headache, so Hux didn’t regret this temporary arrangement. It was a successful hookup or two, or five, but he would call things off when they ran their course, easy. As soon as he got bored. 

He should have known it would come around to bite him in the arse in the end. 

Ren had been away for ten days. During that time, Hux received two official communications with the mission status and requests for backup, which he accepted as per protocol, and two more on his private comm during off hours, which he didn't read and let bounce off with an automated reply instead. If Ren thought he could question Hux's command day in and day out, he was sorely mistaken. Other than that, it was a blissfully uneventful time. Truth to be said, it's been even a tad boring without the usual stalking menace on board (and nice orgasm or two every couple of days) so Hux was moderately looking forward to Ren's return. If he thought about it, he even expected Ren to feel the same. 

When Ren's shuttle finally docked, it was nothing like Hux expected. 

He didn't expect to find Ren in his bedroom instead of the debrief room, sans the mask but otherwise complete with battle dirt and grime. He didn't expect Ren to push him against the wall and start devouring his face in hot, demanding kisses, and he didn't expect how much he wouldn’t mind it. He felt a thrill of pride, even, that with the whole Galaxy at his disposal Ren seemed to come back with hunger for Hux. 

Ren had flicked open Hux's uniform jacket and was determinedly working his way down his neck and chest when Hux felt the buzz of his comm in his pocket. 

Earlier that day, the astrophysicists warned him about imminent solar flares on the Starkiller's sun. Hux was concerned about how the ensuing magnetic storm would affect the planetary electronic installations and instructed Lieutenant Mitaka to call him as soon as the solar activity spiked. He wanted to oversee the situation personally, anxious not to leave his precious construction at the risk of blackout. When his comm started to beep, he answered it immediately. 

" _ General, you're needed on the bridge _ ."

"On my way," Hux replied without missing a beat, in his mind already calculating what systems he'd need to reroute to best mitigate the storm's impact, and unceremoniously shoved Ren's face away from his chest. 

Unfortunately, Ren was already halfway down to his knees and at the rough push he overbalanced and nearly landed on his arse. Any other time, Hux would laugh to his heart's content at that but now he didn't even have the attention to spare for Ren's incredulous, offended glare. 

"Come on, Hux. Your shift is over. I missed you." 

Hux batted off Ren's hands pawing for his zipper, fixed his uniform and frowned at the floor. His cap had fallen off in Ren's enthusiasm and it must have rolled off somewhere. 

"You went without fucking me for ten days, you can go for another hour," he said distractedly. Ah, there it was. Thankfully intact. Bloody Ren. 

"No! I mean, yes," Ren groaned, "but I missed  _ you.  _ I brought you something, I swear this time you'll like it-" 

His words only vaguely registered through the haze of duty in Hux's head. 

"This time I would  _ what _ ? Nevermind." He pulled on his gloves and hit the comm, silencing another summon to the bridge. "You know the rules. Work before play." 

"Play? Hux, what…" 

Hux didn't hear the rest, walking out of the door and heading for the elevator. Ren and his libido could see themselves out on their own. 

Black-clad, something-blue-spattered arm stopped the elevator door just as it was sliding shut and Ren forced himself in. Hux braced himself for another attack but strangely, Ren seemed to have come to his senses. He just looked at Hux, returning his withering glare with increasing confusion, until he opened his mouth - shut it again - and finally asked:

"Was this whole time just a game to you?" 

Hux blinked. The whole time, did Ren mean those four or five, fine, maybe some twelve or possibly twenty hookups? 

"What else should it be? What's wrong with a little after-shift entertainment?" 

The colour drained from Ren's face, making it look eerily ghost-like in the periodically brightening and dimming lights of the elevator, and suddenly Hux knew where he'd seen that face before. 

It's been three years. Hux was just one of many Supremacy Captains at the time, still ordered around by officers who remembered him as a boy, when they intercepted a small shuttle in the middle of nowhere. Their course that day was a direct order by Snoke, and Hux almost didn't believe at first that this was it, that this puny ship with three Republic scum children on board was what they were here for. 

Snoke had sent word that the eldest one should have been delivered straight to him, and Hux was the one to take him there. He remembered checking him out during the long elevator ride, a shackled and silent boy with wild hair and tear-tracks drying on his face, his anguished eyes unfocused and churning with so many emotions at once that Hux had to look away. 

Those same eyes looked at him now like an accusation, burning with pain and anger. 

"I knew it. You're that New Republic boy - you're Ben Solo," Hux breathed out, awed by his own cleverness. 

He almost couldn't believe it, equating that scared, uprooted and lost boy with the dark, vicious warrior - but the way Kylo Ren flinched at those words was a confirmation clearer than any words. And now that he knew, he could even see it - written all over Ren's face were the features of his royal, prominent, obnoxiously idealistic mother. 

"That name is not to be spoken within the First Order," Ren gritted out. 

"Stars, don't be such a child about it, I couldn't care less," Hux rolled his eyes. The comm in his pocket was beeping insistently now. 

"I have work to do. Come to my quarters later, preferably after you had cleared your childish misconceptions on mutually beneficial arrangements." 

He entered the bridge at brisk pace, got up to date with the reports and began firing out orders. Two hours later, the blackout crisis was successful avoided and Hux was riding the high of being on top of his game, sharing a well deserved cigar with the communications officers and typing out a quick line of message to Ren, inviting him to his quarters for a little celebratory time. 

It remained unanswered and Ren didn't show up. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> References to the Hux comics. I tried to keep it non-spoilery in case anyone hadn't got around to read it but, the story is tied to it, tough luck.

Over the course of the next few days, Ren ignored every other message barring the official ones, and he maintained his own special brand of civility that usually involved not strangling officers above the rank of Captain. He would talk - about command matters - but instead of adding a few softer-spoken words about an arrangement for the evening, Ren would now give Hux the cold shoulder, often literally shoulder-checking him on his way off. After some time, Hux had to admit to himself that their little affair was definitely over. A little bit ahead of its time, if you asked him, but ultimately no big deal. 

Definitely not a big deal. 

Until, about a week later, Hux was taking a shortcut to the main hangar level across the recreational deck when he suddenly heard something - a sound, coming out of a dim side corridor - that made him stop in his tracks. 

A familiar voice - deep, toneless, mechanical - uttering familiar words.

"Yes… Just like that."

Except, Hux had never heard those words in that voice. Ren had never worn the mask while they were having… 

His own breath held back, Hux could now make out the breath of another person: heavy, hitching, interspersed with cut-off moans. 

Hux’s feet carried him the few steps back and into the side corridor before he could consciously realise what a stupid idea it was. 

His eyes took a second to get used to the low light. During that second, the man between Ren and the wall shot up to his feet, frantically trying to wipe his mouth, straighten his cap and dust off his knees at the same time. 

“Lieutenant Rodinon?”

Rodinon’s entire posture snapped up to attention, hand locked in an awkward salute. He was still missing his gloves. Hux couldn’t be sure but it looked as if Ren was standing on one. 

“Permission to leave, sir?” the lieutenant stuttered, voice croaky with panic. Yes, it was panic and absolutely not the misuse of his throat, which Hux knew a thing or two about…

“Granted,” Hux barked out and the lieutenant skittered away faster than a mouse droid. Ren stomped off the other way before Hux managed to gather his wits to ask him what the hells was that. As soon as he dealt with the issue in the hangar bays, Hux checked the bridge crew roster. Rodinon had been off duty at the time he was caught  _ in flagranti _ , so at least there was that. Nothing wrong with a little bit of after-shift entertainment, after all. 

He thought nothing more of the incident… until a week later he was returning from the inspection of the officer armory and one of the closet doors was rattling in its frame. 

This time it was Captain Parks, one of the radar experts. Apparently Ren had abandoned choking his officers with the Force in favour of soliciting sexual liaisons with them. Parks hurried away with his uniform jacket askew, the bright red blush on his face clashing with his hair, his hastily rolled up belt stuffed in his jodhpurs pocket. Ren’s paneled robe was much better at hiding any sort of… deficiencies in his attire so again the man strode off before Hux could put a word in edgewise. 

Another week, another corridor, another officer… but this time - and really, how could he fail to notice it sooner? - Hux saw the pattern. 

They were all red-haired. 

He cornered Ren at the first opportunity he got. A small part of him kept telling him to just stick to their professional exchanges and not provoke the beast but a bigger part of him was simply too obsessed. He blocked Ren’s path just as he was leaving the briefing room and sneered at his own reflection in the polished surface of the mask. 

“So this is what you’re doing? Fucking lesser officers who resemble me because you can’t have the real thing?”

But his reflection laughed back at him in Ren’s voice. 

“Don’t flatter yourself, Hux. I simply have a thing for gingers. You weren’t the first, and you’re not the last.”

Hux gritted his teeth so hard he could hear the grind. He could live with being just one in a string of one night stands, after all, with his own policy it would be hypocritical to begrudge this to Ren, but being reduced to a… a category?

But Ren wasn’t done.

“Perhaps you want to know why I like them, General?” he hissed. Hux didn’t want to, not really, but after weeks of ignoring him, Ren’s anger was just like his fighting style: rolling and crushing anything that dared to stand in its path.

“They’re  _ easy _ ,” Ren taunted, chuckling at Hux’s humiliating inability to come up with a retort. “They’re so greedy for someone strong, someone to protect them. They remember being bullied for standing out, they’re  _ still _ being disrespected and mocked by their own subordinates… deep down, they’re just scared, lonely boys. Tell them they did well, tell them they’re precious… and they eat out of your hand.”

Hux saw red. Rationally, he should have known that this was just Ren's pay back for Hux's calling him a New Republic boy. But all rationality flew out of the airlock when the memories suddenly flooded in full force, the ringing taunts of fellow cadets, the name-calling, the cruel pranking… and his own fascination with Ren, with his strength and power... How dared Ren manipulate him like that?

At last, Hux managed to get air into his lungs, enough to spit out haughty words:

“You shouldn’t play such games with my officers.”

Kylo scoffed under the mask, the sound turned into a burst of disdainful static in the vocoder. 

“You shouldn’t have played games with me.”

***

Hux armed himself for that evening with a whole bottle of his favourite wine and the passcodes for restricted archives. With that, he began his research on Ben Solo’s family. There had to be something he could use as ammunition to hurt Ren’s pride the next time they clashed. 

He didn’t even know how, maybe three quarters of the bottle in, he ended up watching an old documentary on the Alderaanian royal family. Archive footage of the Princess Leia’s nineteenth birthday. There she was, those simple white robes, that proud chin, dark, passionate eyes. It wasn’t hard to see Kylo in her, in those quick flashes of temper, direct words that were pulling no punches. An enemy Hux could respect just as much as he hated her. She would hate him as well, of course - but she wouldn’t underestimate him… 

He woke up with the taste of wine gone stale in his mouth and the wrinkles of his sleeves imprinted on his face, the publicity holo of awkward teen Ben Solo entering the new Jedi order still playing on repeat above his desk. 

This was stupid. He didn’t know what he was thinking he would find. The entire research was a waste of time. 

Then a shuttle communication panel blew up in his face, they crash-landed on a jungle planet and somehow, the only other inhabitant of that wretched place emerged from the bushes wearing a uniform straight out of Hux’s a bit wine-hazy, but still fresh memory. Hux was never more grateful for a time wasted on research. An Alderaanian palace guard. A man who knew and adored Princess Leia Organa. This was just a piece of cake. He didn’t even need to lie to him, every honeyed word he said was technically the truth. 

The Empire had fallen due to blind pride. They were working on bringing peace and order to the Galaxy. And Ren was very much like his mother. 

***

Dealing with that old sack of an Admiral Brooks was immensely satisfying. That man would never humiliate him again. Hux briefly thought of making him beg for his life a little longer - bringing a fine brandy, spill it on the floor and make him lick it up, make him foolishly believe that such a penance would soften Hux’s heart- but no. That would be a waste. He’d rather enjoy it alone to the very last drop.

Hux sat in the observatory, weak Starkiller’s sun shining just as dull as ever, as if it didn’t have only months left to live. He absentmindedly twirled the almost empty bottle in his hand, trying not to think of the evening when he opened it first. Ren had brought it…

As if summoned by the thought, Ren appeared in the door frame and slowly walked up to the viewports, his movements quieter and more terse than usual. He appeared to not even notice Hux, staring out but not observing anything in particular. It was hard to tell with the mask. 

Hux was drunk, and in little control of his thoughts. That was probably why they took him back to how Ren saved his life earlier that day. It wasn’t just unintentional result, just neglect, saving only himself with no care for the collateral. Ren had taken care to wake Hux from his temporary unconsciousness in the shuttle so Hux would be able to hold on during their fall. 

And even after Hux called him Rebel scum child to his face, even after the threats and Ren’s dismissal of Hux’s usefulness… when the beasts attacked, Ren’s first instinct was to put Hux behind himself. 

“You’re very wasteful with your protectiveness over someone you don’t see any worth of,” he sneered. Of course he’d heard Ren’s complaints to Snoke as he was leaving the audience room. He was sure Ren intended him to. 

Ren turned to him. “Snoke knows you want to dispose of him,” he announced. 

Hux scoffed. “Yes, because  _ someone _ tattled it out to him, wouldn’t you believe that.” He made to leave - he was so done with Ren, that whiny, tell-tale child-

Ren stopped him by grabbing him by the arm, the grip bordering on painful. 

“You don’t understand,” he growled. “He’d always known. He knows your mind. And when the time comes, he’ll know your every intent. There is no going against him, Hux. If you value your life, don’t do it.”

Liquid courage circulated in Hux’s veins, so he only laughed. 

“Are you warning me against destroying myself? I don’t know if I should be flattered that you care if I fail, or offended that you seem to think I would fail at all.”

Ren let go of him. Hux resisted the urge to rub him arm, chase the tingling echo of the touch. 

“It would be a waste to lose a mind as quick as yours,” he said. Hux narrowed his eyes. He was used to insults - there was an insult in there somewhere, wasn’t it? 

“I read your report,” Ren continued. “How were you able to identify that man’s uniform? That pattern ceased to exist before you were born.”

He seemed genuinely interested, impressed even, and Hux’s tongue was loose with the drink. 

“I was digging through the archives the other day… looking up information I could use against you. It came up in the holos. So you can thank my spite for getting us out of there, I suppose.”

Ren nodded to himself, a small gesture that almost looked like resignation. 

“Snoke says everything you do is fueled by spite.”

Hux raised his empty glass in a mock toast. “Cheers to him, he’s not wrong. He’s the mind reader after all.”

Ren was leaving, but then he paused for a moment. He didn’t turn around fully, the light from the viewports catching just on the edge of the silver lining his visor. 

“Just this once… I’d like him to be wrong.”

Hux stared after him long after the door slid shut again, wondering what in the hells just happened. Yes, of course it was spite that made him dig up any available material, to pull up every old holo… but it wasn’t spite what made him watch all of them, even the innocent ones, happy ones. He stayed watching them out of curiosity. Sympathy. Longing...


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obligatory chapter count bump up. I don't know what y'all were expecting. 
> 
> Also this chapter is where the fic earns its rating, warning ahead.

Hux woke up to the sound of his alarm clock blaring and his old friend hangover reluctantly sharing the space in his skull with a new friend: regrets. 

Yesterday’s night. Did that really happen? Was it really Ren in the observatory - not snarling insults, not laughing at him from under that blasted mask - but somehow soft, serene, sad?

Hux thought he knew Ren. He thought Ren hated him. But that didn’t seem true. What else did he not know about Ren? From the start, he thought Ren and he were on the same page. And somehow they were - but those pages belonged to completely different books.

They never talked about what was happening between them and Hux didn’t think it was necessary. He preferred no talking arrangements. But why Kylo never talked? Or… did he?

Hux blearily felt around the nightstand for his datapad. His messaging feed sported a little red dot in the corner: unread messages. From more than a month ago, delivered during Hux’s off-hours and never opened as Hux assumed it was just Ren being the usual nuisance and demanding more Stormtrooper units. 

He now noticed the large file attachments that came with the messages. It appeared Kylo sent him… holorecordings? Hux glanced at the chrono - he still had two hours before he was due to report to the bridge. He could do this. 

The first recording projected a life-sized, translucent and blue-at-the-edges version of Ren sitting at the edge of a something that looked like a bed. Ren must have assumed Hux would watch it in his own bed because somehow, the edges of the shaky holo-projection and the real Hux’s bed merged almost perfectly. Hux even subconsciously moved his feet away before he realised that no, Ren wasn’t about to crush them. 

“Good morning,” the projection said. “I checked, it should be the beginning of the cycle on Finalizer when you get this. Unless you stayed up all night working, again, and it that case, go to bed.”

Hux gaped. This alone was a longer string of words than Ren had ever uttered in Hux's quarters in real life, and that was only a greeting. 

The projection chuckled, as if reading his thoughts over the abyss of space and time. 

"Funny, talking to you like this is much easier. If I was with you now, I wouldn't waste time talking either. You're too irresistible when you've just woken up."

Hux didn't need a mirror to know that his and Ren's definition of 'irresistibility' hardly matched. It shouldn't include sleep-soft eyes and ungelled hair sticking out in the every direction… 

"You got my mission updates so you know that I'm fine. Good on supplies, the cover is holding up…" 

Of course they were, Hux gathered the intel and planned the logistics for this mission. He just never expected to hear the acknowledgement from Ren's mouth. 

“... so the only thing I miss is you,” Ren’s projection grinned, more shakily than could be blamed on the wavering of the signal. “So forgive me when I bring you something again. It gets easier to be away from you when I’m picking something with you in mind.”

Hux frowned. What was Ren talking about? And then something else floated up in his mind - a scrap of a memory, stomped down under stress and haste and single-minded focus on work.  _ I’ve brought you something, I swear this time you’ll like it… _

“I know I’ve been getting it wrong,” Ren continued. “Like with the robe. I thought you would have liked something comfortable, luxurious… but you didn’t, and I realised that it really wasn’t your style. You’re a military man, sharp and judgmental and ruthless, your clothes reflect that, and I like that about you.”

Hux blinked and frowned at his usual robe laid over the back of a chair by the bed. Its pleated lines really did resemble a uniform… 

“Or like with the tea cup. I thought you’d enjoy something from that era. All the officers are obsessed with Imperial memorabilia… but then I realised, it’s not you, again. You’re young, modern. You don’t want to put the past on the pedestal. If you wanted a better cup, you’d design it.”

Hux groaned. Kylo was so wrong… but also inexplicably right. And he evidently dedicated more time to learning Hux’s heart’s wishes than Hux alone ever did. 

“And the crystal...” Kylo laughed. “That was just me running out of ideas. The colour reminded me of your hair. I should’ve known it would offend you, you hate ginger jokes. I miss you, Hux. I should wrap up this mission in a couple more days. Tomorrow we’re meeting a lead… you would hate that place. But just maybe… I’ll be able to get the perfect thing for you this time.” 

The message ended and the holo flickered out, leaving behind a fleeting negative image on the back of Hux’s eyes. 

Hux got up on shaky legs, poured himself a glass of water and swallowed two fast-acting migraine pills. Not that it would help much. His head was swimming. All that time, Ren was getting him  _ gifts.  _

And Hux kept delivering them back to Ren’s rooms like… like a dolt that’s never got a gift in their life. There was no other excuse. Maybe if Ren had the balls to actually  _ give _ those things to Hux in person, not leaving them behind like some stupid secret admirer...

Hux massaged his temples, willing the headache away. He had one more recording to get through. He got back on the bed, made himself comfortable, took a deep breath and pressed play. 

It started similarly to the last one, showing the image of Ren somewhere what looked like a dingy inn room. But this time, the holo camera was pushed further away from him, showing his whole body as it reclined on the bed, long legs stretched out. His very naked body, glistening with tiny droplets of water as if he’d just came out of a shower. A thin blanket was casually thrown over his midsection but it looked like he was wearing nothing underneath that as well. 

“Good evening, Hux,” Kylo grinned into the camera. “I hope you’re still awake for this. I got you the present like I promised. You will like this one.” 

He reached for something outside the frame and brought forward a little box. 

“And how can I be so sure? Because that’s the one thing we have in common. You like having sex with me. I like having sex with you. We’re so good together. And I miss that when I’m away. So I went and bought this...”

He leaned forward and opened the box, taking out the item inside and showing it into the full view of the camera. 

“A vibrating plug.” His grin grew wider, eyes glinting with mischief. “And tonight, I’m going to demonstrate it to you.”

Hux gulped and glanced nervously at the chrono. Still enough time. But he just couldn’t… watch this, as if Ren still meant him to? They weren’t together anymore. 

Oh, fuck it. Just this once. He would never forgive himself not watching it. If this should be the last time he ever had Ren in his bed, even as just a grainy, shaky holorecording, so be it. He’d take what he could get. 

In the recording, Kylo shuffled on the bed and rose up onto his knees, the thin blanket slipping off his lap to reveal his cock. It was already half hard with anticipation, flushed and filling up further as if reacting to Hux’s hungry eyes. 

“I always like the way you look at me,” Kylo sighed, turning the plug in his hands and caressing it to warm up the cold metal. “Appraising me.” He put the tip of it between his lips and circled it with his tongue, leaving a glistening mark on the smooth surface. His cock stood proudly now, dark and still a bit wet as if Ren had been working it before he started the recording, just to bring himself to the edge, just thinking about what he was about to do. Leave it for Hux to enjoy the main show. 

Kylo slid one palm down his body, fingers skimming over a nipple and down over a pattern of moles around his navel, stopping just a hair shy from the base of his cock. 

“I know you want this,” he grinned into the holocam. “But I won’t give it to you tonight. I’m not even touching it tonight. I’ll leave that for you when I return.” 

Kylo was now coating the toy with liberal amount of lubricant. The plug looked heavy and big enough that Hux felt hot just imagining how perfectly it would stretch Kylo's hole, just enough for Hux to pull it out and put his own cock inside anytime he liked... 

"I had special measurements in mind when I picked this one."

Startled, Hux looked around to check that Kylo indeed wasn't somehow in the room, reading his thoughts and talking over the recording. But no, it was just a holo, as life-like as it could be. He was alone. And though still feeling a little guilty, he sneaked a hand beneath his waistband and stroked his stirring cock, unconsciously mimicking Kylo’s fondling of the toy.

“Are you touching yourself now?”

Hux’s hand nearly cramped how fast he pulled it out of his pants. “Absolutely not!” he barked out before he realised how silly it was. Keeping up appearances for a month old message, for fuck’s sake.

“Go on,” Kylo prompted, eyes slipping closed for a moment. “I wish I could see you. You are gorgeous like that. But I guess you’d like better this view,” and with that he turned around, poured some more lube onto his fingers and leaned forward to rest on his elbows, spreading his thighs and showing off the pretty pucker of his hole. 

Hux gave up on all pretense and shoved his hand back into his pants. He would risk walking past Kylo later in the day and having his mind read and him knowing Hux had seen the message, but right now he didn’t care. Not when Kylo was running one slick, dripping finger around his hole and then put it in, all the way up to the second knuckle. There was barely any stretch, he must have tried the plug already.

“I wish I had you here for this,” Kylo gasped into the mattress, fucking himself slowly with one finger and massaging the glistening rim of his hole with his thumb. “I can’t reach the good spot at this angle.”

_ Add another _ , Hux thought, succumbing to the fantasy that this was a real time conversation, not just a message, pre-recorded and forgotten. As if on cue, Kylo obeyed, whining a little and adjusting his stance. Hux could hear the wet sounds of those thick fingers thrusting in, picked up by the holocam mic. Hux’s own cock was twitching in time with Kylo’s fingering his hole, and Hux quickly spat into his hand and groaned in relief when he could squeeze and stroke it properly, easing some of the tension in his balls. 

“Just two will be enough,” Kylo panted. “I’d want to feel you, stretching me as you push inside...”

“Sure, not everyone needs to give someone three before they skewer them up to their lungs,” Hux snorted aloud. He loved taking Ren’s cock, though, loved walking around sore and twitching the next day and knowing he’d managed that.

Kylo supported himself on one arm and twisted to be able to look into the holo cam while he held the tip of the plug at his hole, tracing it around and barely slipping the tip in, teasing. His bottom lip was caught between his teeth and his face was flushed, hair sticking to his forehead with sweat. 

“Just look how good I can be for you,” he breathed out and pushed the toy in, groaning and shaking as it went deep, slowly, all the way in on the first thrust until only the base remained visible, nestled between Kylo’s cheeks. The huge cock hanging between his thighs bobbed and spurted a little drip of precome and Hux had to grip the base of his cock hard to stop the heat rushing in, his stomach clenching in pleasure so intense that it almost hurt. 

“If you were here...” Hux could see Kylo fiddling with the base, pressing something, “what setting would you give me? The lowest one, keeping me excited but unsatisfied, begging you to give me more?” Hux caught a faint buzzing sound, and Kylo’s arm buckled under him. “Or would you turn it all the way up at once, making me scream for mercy?”

Hux panted, blood ringing in his ears. His hand was flying over his cock now, he was so close he could taste it. In front of him, Kylo was writhing on the mattress, a steady trickle of precome darkening the sheets under him as the vibrating plug ramped up the settings. Hux wished he could grab him by the hips, pin him down and hold him still, make him take it all- 

“How long do you think I could take it,” Kylo painted the fantasy as if he lived inside Hux’s head. “I tried, it’s not too long. This plug sits right on the spot, and it feels so good, it feels so good when I’m imagining you, knowing this is for you-” 

He grabbed something just out of the range of the cam and held it up, whining when the movement jostled the plug buzzing away inside of him. 

“Because your gift? It’s not the plug. It’s the remote to it.”

Hux had to bite his tongue to keep himself from coming then and there. He had to see the whole of it, he didn’t want to miss a fucking second-

“Imagine playing with the remote as you’re watching me, controlling when and how I get to come,  _ owning me- _ ” Kylo sobbed, and Hux lost it. 

“Yes, yes,” he babbled, watching the way Kylo arched and shuddered and screamed as he came, untouched. Hux’s nerves lit up and his vision turned white as he came too, spurting over his hand, nearly passing out with the intensity of it.

When he came to, the message was still playing. Kylo was sprawled across the bed, chest heaving, the toy switched off and put away. Then he turned his head to face the camera and slowly opened his eyes, no longer glassy and wild with pleasure but soft, so unbearably soft Hux had to look away. 

“You know why I like you, don’t you, Hux? Well, in case you don’t, I’ll give you three reasons just for tonight. First, you’re hot. I like your hair, your skin, your eyes, the way you move.”

Well, Hux thought, that sentiment certainly went both ways. Meanwhile, Kylo pushed a lock of hair out of his eyes and lifted himself up to rest on his elbows. 

“Second, you don’t fuss over me or question me. Even when I’d love to stay the night but I have to return to my quarters to meditate, you never give me hard time about it. I’m bad with affection, so I just don’t do it, and you don’t hold it over me as if I was defective.”

Hux gaped. Ren thought Hux was expecting him to what - shower him with kisses on the bridge? No, certainly not. Hux was perfectly happy with the way their outward appearances had been. 

“And last…” Ren was looking down now, fiddling with the edge of his blanket. “I know I screw up a lot. I get angry, I throw fits… but somehow, you always allow me to come back to you. You’re never…” his voice got rougher now, and he swallowed with difficulty, “...disappointed with me, or telling me to go away, or getting scared of me…”

He shook his head, recovering enough to smile one last time. “You’re perfect, Hux. I can’t wait to be back.” 

The message ended. 

Hux flopped back down and nearly ran his hands through his hair in frustration before he noticed the cooling come splattered on his knuckles and groaned. His stomach was churning but he couldn’t blame it on the residual alcohol anymore. 


	5. Chapter 5

Hux spent the next few shift rotations avoiding Ren and coming up with a strategy that wouldn’t result in him being run through with a lightsaber as soon as he opened his mouth. 

At last, he got an idea. Its realisation only required some rerouting of notification channels, but once that was done, all he had to do was wait. 

The right moment came one night, late into the cycle, when Hux’s pad notified him that there was an active energetic signature corresponding to an ignited lightsaber in one of the auxiliary hangar bays. That was what Hux had been hoping for. It was only fitting that their story should be restarted - or, possibly, ended forever - in the same place it began.

Watching Kylo Ren through the transparisteel panels in the bay door was no less breathtaking than the first time. After a few minutes, though, Hux’s trained eye noticed small changes in style - and it wasn’t just the obvious absence of mask. Ren still barrelled through the flock of battle droids like a beast let out of its cage but his movements seemed more contained, with less flair and more efficiency. And yet, any energy he saved with the restrained momentum he seemed to expend on brutality. 

Only one droid remained standing and it charged at Ren as Hux watched. He’d seen the opening just as Ren did, expected Ren to slice his blade through the droid’s casing, almost heard the  _ thunk _ of the neatly severed head rolling on the floor - but in the last split-second, Ren shot out with his free hand instead, claw-like fingers snapping into a fist, and the droid’s head collapsed into a chunk of distorted metal with a screech of electronic distress. Hux winced. 

“I don’t care for gawkers,” Ren called out, straightening his back and tossing his hair, wet with the sweat of exertion, away from his eyes. He ignored the door as it opened and instead got into a position for lightsaber forms, running through the same slicing and twisting motion repeatedly while the air around him was crackling with ozone. 

Hux walked in a kept on walking until one of the swings of Ren’s blade halted just inches from his neck. Just like back down on that jungle planet, seconds before the first beast attacked. Hux kept his eyes locked on Ren’s and he saw the conflict there, the fury carried over from the fighting headspace, the anger at being interrupted, battling with cautious curiosity. The blade went out with a cracking hiss. 

“Let me guess,” Ren said coldly. “You have watched the messages.”

There was no point in arguing it. “You have the communication override codes,” Hux pointed out. “You could have had them deleted from my feed a month ago.”

Ren scoffed but didn’t deny it either. “And you came to ask if you could still have your gift, I suppose.”

A corner of Hux’s mouth twitched up. “Eventually,” he conceded. “But that wasn’t the first question on my mind.”

Ren clipped the saber back to his belt and crossed his arms over his chest. It seemed an oddly self-protective gesture by a man of his size. 

"Are we really doing this?" he sighed. 

"Talking?" Hux shuddered with the equal amount of distaste. "I suppose we must. Ren… Kylo." 

The way Ren's eyes perked up at the address gave Hux hope. 

"You-" Hux swallowed the word on the tip of his tongue, "-don’t hate me, do you?" 

"I didn’t." 

Hux winced at the past tense. But this also reminded him of his biggest pet peeve. 

"So why do you always tell Snoke he should get rid of me? I’m trying to build an army here!" 

Kylo regarded him for a long moment, his expression guarded. 

"Snoke thinks I’m stupid," he said after a pause. 

_ So does half the Fleet _ , Hux wisely bit back the retort, along with a quip about Snoke being a mind reader. 

"As long as I insist you’re dangerous, he’ll dismiss it. The moment I would agree with you on anything… he'd destroy you," Kylo finished. 

Hux had to take a few seconds to process this revelation. 

“But if you’re able to deceive him… why don’t you get rid of him? Isn’t that the whole apprentice surpassing the master point?”

“His command of the Force is still greater than mine,” Ren said with obvious frustration. “I’m weakened by the pull to the Light. I need to eliminate that. Destroy Skywalker. After that...”

Hux was confused, which was a common occurrence when it came to the Force. 

"But wouldn't your caring for… for someone bring you more to the Light?" 

"You think caring is good?" Ren laughed bitterly. "It's not. It's obsessive. It hurts. The Jedi forbade it. They were supposed to care for the entire universe and for no-one in particular. But the dark side can care  _ terribly _ . Look at me, concocting a whole relationship in my head, with you as someone who’d never reject me, while you-"

"For the record, I didn’t reject you." So much was true, in his single-minded focus, Hux had only told Kylo to come back later. And then a couple things he shouldn’t have said, in retrospect.

"I know." Ren looked equally sad about it. "You were just fucking me." 

_ I didn’t know anything else was on the table, _ Hux thought. Aloud he said: "I just never thought about it." 

Kylo nodded to himself. 

"Any more questions?" he asked in a tone that implied  _ Will you leave me alone? _ while his entire face begged  _ Please don’t.  _

Hux took a deep breath. 

"If I asked you to come tonight, to just pick up and carry on as we were…" 

Kylo’s mouth pulled down into a scowl and Hux lifted his hand. "Let me explain. What did we have? Me never berating you for any of your oddities, you never calling me a sniveling bastard. Us talking about the command and First Order matters without going for each other's throat. Us having great sex. Me organizing your missions and making sure you have maintenance and supplies, you occasionally and  _ completely unintentionally  _ saving my life. The only thing different would be me knowing what it is, and you knowing what it isn’t. Would that be acceptable?"

Hux ran out of breath, heart pummeling in the anticipation of Ren's reply. 

"You’re trying to tell me we already had a relationship." 

Hux threw up his arms. "But it worked for us!" 

Kylo shook his head. "Only so far." 

Hux swore under his breath. "I don’t know if I’m cut out for relationships," he said honestly. He waved his hands around, encompassing the entire Finalizer. "This is my life. I don't have life outside of work that you could be a part of." 

"I didn’t mind that before," Kylo reminded him. 

"No, you didn't," Hux agreed. "You called me perfect."  _ And I want to be, for you.  _

Kylo suddenly smiled. Whatever Hux said - or thought loud enough for any Force-user in twenty mile radius to pick up on - must have worked. 

"Fine. I'll come tonight. Will you make us dinner?" 

The relief was so sudden that a breath Hux had been holding escaped him on a surprised laugh. 

"Stars, no. I burn water. And if you're thinking of asking how come the son of a kitchen woman can’t cook, I can assure you that nobody would ever find your body." 

Kylo chuckled too. "Fair enough. I'll bring the drink though. Your taste in wine is appalling. Now go. I’m exhausted, and you’re supposed to be on the bridge in ten minutes." 

Hux rolled his eyes. Ren’s timing was impeccable. He now had to squash his hopes for a neat little quickie and put up with his perpetual, holomessages-induced horniness for another twelve hours. 

A thought occurred to him just as he was about to leave. 

“One more thing… Will you stop fucking everything ginger on the Finalizer?”

Ren actually laughed at that, a full belly laugh that Hux was sure he’d never heard from that sombre man before. 

“Fine, I’ll concede your superior gingerness.” 

Being reduced to a category didn't sting so much when he could claim he was at the top of it. 

“You better,” Hux grumbled and went about his day’s work. He had an evening to look forward to. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The working title in my gdocs for this was Ginger Games, and I am kinda mad at myself for infusing it with so much angst that the cracky title was no longer usable. 
> 
> Thanks everyone for reading! And if you liked the story, drop a link on Twitter for me? Thank you muchly :)


End file.
